If you don't like what is going on in the Gulf, then this is what you need to do.
U.S. Needs To Cut Oil Demand (Source)
By
Daniel J. Weiss
Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Strategy, Center for American Progress
BP’s tragic April 20 oil rig explosion killed 11 people and has flooded the Gulf of Mexico with 4 million gallons of oil and counting. This terrible event is another urgent reminder that we must drastically cut our oil use to protect our health, economy, and environment.
The United States has only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, yet we use one-quarter of the oil produced annually. We can never close this supply-demand gap. Instead we have to rely on “dangerous or unstable” nations for one out of every five barrels of oil we consume. Drilling for oil in formerly protected areas in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic and Pacifi...
BP’s tragic April 20 oil rig explosion killed 11 people and has flooded the Gulf of Mexico with
4 million gallons of oil and counting. This terrible event is another urgent reminder that we must drastically cut our oil use to protect our health, economy, and environment.
The United States has only
2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, yet we use
one-quarter of the oil produced annually. We can never close this supply-demand gap. Instead we have to
rely on “dangerous or unstable” nations for one out of every five barrels of oil we consume. Drilling for oil in formerly protected areas in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts will not provide oil for a long time, according to the
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The fastest, cheapest way to reduce our oil dependence is to cut U.S. oil demand. Efforts to reduce oil use should focus on vehicles since 70 percent of
oil use is for transportation and
two-thirds of that is for passenger vehicles. We should act now to reduce our oil use in three key ways:
· Make vehicles significantly more fuel efficient while commercializing electric vehicles
· Develop cleaner, alternative non-oil-based fuels such as advanced biofuels and natural gas
· Invest in public transportation to provide practical, accessible, economical alternatives to driving
The Obama administration has taken important steps in each of these areas. It set
new fuel efficiency standards to increase automobile and light truck fuel economy by one-third. This will
save nearly 2 billion barrels of oil over the life of these cars.
The Obama administration also launched
initiatives to build the infrastructure essential to increase the development and production of advanced biofuels. These measures will assist farmers that grow feedstock for biofuels, as well as
aid companies that produce them. The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help by investing $8 billion in public transit and another $8 billion in high-speed rail. Both of these efforts will help save oil.
The BP oil disaster and its horrible aftermath provide an opening for President Obama and Congress to take additional steps to reduce oil use. We should establish a National Oil Savings Program that gives the president authority to cut oil consumption by 7 million barrels of oil per day in 2030.
[1] It should include interim goals of cutting 1 million and 3 million barrels of oil in the middle years. This idea is based upon a proposal made by
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in 2003.
Such legislation should also
incent or require more efficient cars, clean fuels, and more transit options. These are the essential elements of lower oil consumption.
As oil gushes into the Gulf of Mexico, Americans are clamoring for change. The Benenson Strategy Group just released a May 4-5 poll demonstrating that voters want clean energy reform more than ever.
It determined that: “61% of 2010 voters support and just 31% oppose a bill ‘that will limit pollution, invest in domestic energy sources and encourage companies to use and develop clean energy. It would do this in part by charging energy companies for carbon pollution in electricity or fuels like oil.’”
Benenson also finds that “39% of voters now say they are more likely to support [clean energy legislation] in the wake of the oil spill” than before.
Americans understand that the United States needs comprehensive clean energy and climate policies to decrease our dependence on this dangerous and dirty commodity. If we fail to reduce our oil consumption, it will hurt national security and Americans’ pocketbooks. We have an opportunity to take immediate steps to reduce oil use. And in doing so we can also take the lead in developing and producing the hyperefficient vehicles of the future—and profit by marketing these products to the world.
[1] These proposals developed in collaboration with the Alliance for Climate Protection, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Union of Concerned Scientists.
